Mount Vernon: A Home
Slavery at Mount Vernon
Farm to Table

Dining with the Washingtons
Table Manners
Patriotic Foods
The Cost of Dining

Dinner with the Washingtons

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Ham was very popular in Virginia. Virginians loved ham so much that the Washingtons made sure to serve ham every day at Mount Vernon. Pork was a great meat for colonists because, when salted and smoked, it tasted good and lasted for years. Mrs. Washington's hams were famous. She had her hams smoked over burning corn cobs instead of wood, giving the meat a distinct flavor.

Ham

Fish was one of Washington’s favorites! The Washingtons enjoyed lots of different seafood at Mount Vernon, including anchovies, herring, oysters and shad. The Washingtons could purchase seafood but most of the fish they ate was caught right outside Mount Vernon's door, in the Potomac River. But the Washingtons didn’t just eat the fish they caught. They sold them too! Slaves could catch as much as a half a million fish in just a few months!

Fish

Soup

Fowl

Mrs. Washington loved vegetables and said they were “the best part of living in the country.” Peas were among the many vegetables the Washingtons grew—and then ate—at Mount Vernon. Throughout their two gardens, they grew typical vegetables, like broccoli and carrots, and more interesting ones, like artichokes and asparagus.

Peas

Bread

What's for dessert?

Did you know?

Mount Vernon actually has two dining rooms! The large dining room was for formal events and parties but the Washington's had a smaller dining room for everyday meals.

Could we get two dinners instead?

Christina| HIST 697 | George Mason University | Spring 2013